Success Story: Francesca Moran

Filmmaking Major - Class of 2016

Q: Were there
any faculty or staff members that were particularly helpful during your time at
Montclair State?

A: I had a few great teachers at Montclair State University
that inspired me to get involved and taught me invaluable life lessons
throughout college. One teacher that helped me tremendously is named Susan
Skoog. She is a professor in the filmmaking department and inspired me during
my four years at Montclair. Her classes made me excited to be a student, and I
actually use some of the things she taught me in my career every day. When I graduated
from Montclair State I moved into an apartment and started job hunting. I was
living alone and bartending to make my rent every month. I was struggling, to
say the least, when I ran into Susan Skoog at a café in Montclair. She offered
me an unpaid job to work on a film that she wrote and was directing over the
summer. I immediately said yes, and began working with her for the next two or
three months. While working on her set, I met a few great filmmakers and
producers that recommended me for jobs in the industry. Soon after, a company
called Tribe Pictures contacted me because of a recommendation from a producer
on Susan’s film set. I don’t think I could have gotten this job without people
like Susan. That’s one of my favorite parts about Montclair State is the
professors and teachers and adjuncts that come into class and inspire students
like myself every day. There were plenty of times after I graduated that I
considered being a bartender forever, or becoming a receptionist, or whatever
job I could think of that sounded “safe” and “secure” because I had no health
insurance, I could barely pay my bills, and I thought it would be impossible to
get a job in my major. But luckily, I had the determination and help from
amazing professors like Susan to remind me I had just spent four years and
thousands of dollars because I had a passion for filmmaking. And luckily, I
didn’t quit. I owe a huge ‘thank you’ to Susan and the many other professors at
Montclair State University. These people helped me realize my potential, taught
me life lessons, and most importantly inspired me.

Q: What inspired
your success?

A: It’s funny because I didn’t have a clear path to
“success”, or whatever you’d like to call it. It was messy and confusing and I
felt like I had no clue what I was doing. (Because I didn’t). I had applied to
so many jobs every afternoon, it felt mind numbing. And it was discouraging and
frustrating that I wasn’t getting any interviews. I knew I was smart and I also
knew that I was a hard worker, because I worked almost seven days a week to pay
my rent at the end of every month. While in college, I was working almost full
time, I had a part time internship, I was deeply involved in my sorority, and I
was a full time student. I figured if I could handle all of those
responsibilities, I could handle having a full time career after college! Not
until I came into my first day of work at Tribe Pictures did I realize I had
obtained some sort of success, finally. And then I started thinking about
Montclair State and my amazing professors like Susan and I realized it all
would not have been possible without these people and these experiences. I had
three internships while at Montclair, and all were important in different ways.
They helped me succeed, because even though I was waking up at 5am to catch a
train to New York and not being paid, I was learning really valuable lessons
about the work environment and the industry itself. My internships showed me
what I liked doing within the Film Industry, and what I didn’t like doing. The
more experience I had, the better my resume was, and the more confident I felt
about graduating. I also have to say, my parents played a huge part in my
success and why I have a job. They encouraged me to do more, work harder, and
not to give up when I was exhausted and wanted to quit my job so I could sleep
in. They helped me pay for college, and most importantly, they gave me a
support system that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.

Finally, as I reflect on my years at Montclair State
University and what I attribute to my success and why I have a career now, I
think of my sorority. I was apart of Sigma Sigma Sigma at Montclair State, and
served as Vice President when I was a junior. Being apart of the sorority
taught me public speaking skills, made me more deadline oriented, taught me
responsibility, and showed me how to balance a million and one things at once.
I completed hundreds of hours of community service because of the sorority, as
it truly was an amazing experience and made Montclair State feel like my actual
home. For anyone that feels out of place at Montclair, I highly recommend Greek
Life, or some sort of organization. You will learn life lessons that are
invaluable and will help you in your career.

Q: What is it
you do at Tribe Pictures?

A: I do a little bit of everything, and it’s amazing. At
Tribe Pictures, we create corporate films for sales, marketing and branding,
investor relations, recruiting and human resources, values and celebration
videos, to name a few. Some of our clients include Verizon, American Express,
Quest Diagnostics, Colgate, and so many more. I help coordinate film shoots,
hire freelancers for projects, create schedules, and work on budgets. I’m also
fortunate enough to go on location scouts and other amazing opportunities because
of Tribe. I have my hands in a lot of different areas involving creating a
video, and it’s a wonderful learning experience. I learn new things every day
here, and I’m constantly challenged. It’s an amazing work environment and it’s
run by brilliant people. Vern Oakley, CEO and Creative Director, and Barbara
Hennessy, VP of Production are masters at what they do, and learning from them
has been one of the greatest opportunities yet.

Q: How did you
land this role?

A: I started by simply being a Production Assistant on set
for a 360° video Tribe was creating. A producer that worked on Susan Skoog’s
set over the summer had recommended me, and luckily Tribe gave me a call. After
working as a PA, I began to work in their production office doing odd jobs like
writing purchase order’s, answering phones, booking hotel rooms and flights for
productions, etc. I started taking on larger roles later, and now have multiple
roles in and out of the office.

Q: What are your
plans after graduation?

A: After graduating, I knew I wanted to stay close to New
York, and my parents lived over an hour away in western New Jersey. So I got an
apartment by myself, and applied for jobs within my major of Filmmaking. Going
forward, I would like to continue working with Tribe Pictures and learn as much
as I can with this company. I would also love to go back to school for my
Master’s Degree in Communication and Media Arts.

Q: What advice
would you give to current and prospective students?

A: The most important life lesson I learned while trying to
obtain a job after I graduated was that nothing comes easily. Nothing. I would
go to Starbucks every day before my bartending shift and apply to websites like
Indeed.com or any of those job websites for hours. Even with the great resume I
had, I realized everyone had a decent resume and everyone that had just
graduated was applying for the same job as me! It is so important to say, “yes”
to every opportunity someone gives you. There’s always an opportunity to learn
something new. And the opportunities that may seem random, can evolve into
something amazing like a job! It’s so important to take the four years you have
at Montclair, no matter what major or aspirations you have for your future, and
say yes to everything. Learn new skills, fail a bunch of times, and literally
try everything you possibly can while you’re in college. The more experiences
you try, internships you do, and opportunities you say “yes” to, the better
chance you have at earning a job once you graduate. Even if those opportunities
do not pay, still say “yes”. You will learn that throughout college, and even
after you graduate, people will give you amazing opportunities, but can’t
always afford to pay you. I have learned that many of these opportunities have
been invaluable and was well worth the money I spent on travel to get there.
Whether it is internships or unpaid jobs, anything can lead you to an amazing
experience, and perhaps even a paid job down the road. Say yes to everything.

The amazing thing about Montclair State, and why I loved my
four years there, was the opportunities it gave me. I was able to try every
aspect of filmmaking, fail a TON of times, and come out four years later with
so many skills under my belt. It’s important to take advantage of all that
Montclair offers. Job fairs, internships, professors, staff, everything. Ask
your professors tons of questions, pick their brains. Believe it or not, most
of them have a ton of experience in the industry and you can learn from them if
you just ask. College in general is really what you make of it, and the four years
goes by so quickly, you have to savor every last moment you can while you’re
still a student. This is the time you have to learn and fail over and over in a
completely safe environment. I remember all the struggles of going to
Montclair; like the ridiculous winds in the winter, the Wi-Fi connection that
never seemed to work, and the piles of homework and projects that I was sure I would never finish. But Montclair
State is beyond amazing. They want you to succeed and they want you to have a
career when you leave. They give you all the tools to do so. But it’s up to
you, the student, to make those aspirations and dreams actually become a
reality. No one will hand you a job, or an internship, or a career. It’s
completely up to you to be proactive, and utilize all that Montclair has to
offer.